Page 4: DiskStation Manager 3.0
DiskStation Manager 3.0
Initial setup is like all Synology units. If your unit isn't setup already, you can use the Synology Assistant software that is located on the CD. There are binaries for Linux, Windows, and Mac. Finding the DS211 is as simple as starting the software. We're showing this software on Kubuntu Linux.
The model and other information will be displayed after it finds the DS211. Our test unit is already setup with a manual IP (192.168.1.211 for DS211) and the DSM 3.0 software is installed. If you didn't have anything installed, you'd be able to do it from this screen.
The next tab allows you to see some vital statistics of the DS211 such as volume space and system utilization. We were copying 16GB of files when showing this tab off which is why things are fluctuating.
After you have the DSM 3.0 software installed, you can setup volumes and such on the DS211 internal website. Navigate to the IP address given in the software and connect to port 5000 over HTTP.
This is where things really diverge from the DS210j review. The DiskStation Manager 3.0 is a total revamp. Instead of looking like a web page, it takes the Web 2.0 cue and makes the software into a web desktop. The welcome screen gives you quick access to setting up and creating volumes, shares, users, and privileges to make quick work of your new NAS.
The DSM 3.0 is totally multi-window. You can open any number of "views" just like a real OS. In actually, the DSM 3.0 is the OS of the DS211, so the analogy fits. While it is intuitive to work with (coming from a desktop OS), it also gets out of the way when needed. The menu at the top controls the majority of the functions through the control panel so you aren't buried in window hell. As you can see, we've already setup a volume and assigned a public share.
One very useful information that the DSM 3.0 software presents is the status of the drives inside the DS211. You can even access the raw SMART data to make sure everything is working nominally. The shot was done while we were transferring files and the drives were still at a reasonable temperature.
The menu is located at the top left (GNOME/Mac style). You can access it at anytime and it presents all the needed control interfaces for the DS211. The control panel is the most important bit after setting up a volume since you can get to everything from that area.
Think of the control panel as the base of operations, just like any other OS. It is from here that you can make the DS211 anything you want it to be. Do you want to enable the PHP webserver with MySQL? Click the Web Services icon and enable it. The DSM 3.0 software allows you to gain SSH access to hack the unit anyway you would want.
Unlike the DS210j review, we're operating on a gigabit LAN for this. Still, we opted to use the default MTU value of 1500 since jumbo frames are non standard and some switches don't support them. From the network settings page, you can setup the network name and even IPv6. If you have a Linux compatible USB 802.11 NIC, you can setup wireless support from the next tab as well. Since the DSM 3.0 software runs on Linux 2.6.32, you get all the features it provides.
If you have an IPv6 gateway, you can tunnel over IPv4. The software allows a great deal of customization and it allows you to use the DS211 in a variety of network configurations.
Initial setup is like all Synology units. If your unit isn't setup already, you can use the Synology Assistant software that is located on the CD. There are binaries for Linux, Windows, and Mac. Finding the DS211 is as simple as starting the software. We're showing this software on Kubuntu Linux.
The model and other information will be displayed after it finds the DS211. Our test unit is already setup with a manual IP (192.168.1.211 for DS211) and the DSM 3.0 software is installed. If you didn't have anything installed, you'd be able to do it from this screen.
The next tab allows you to see some vital statistics of the DS211 such as volume space and system utilization. We were copying 16GB of files when showing this tab off which is why things are fluctuating.
After you have the DSM 3.0 software installed, you can setup volumes and such on the DS211 internal website. Navigate to the IP address given in the software and connect to port 5000 over HTTP.
This is where things really diverge from the DS210j review. The DiskStation Manager 3.0 is a total revamp. Instead of looking like a web page, it takes the Web 2.0 cue and makes the software into a web desktop. The welcome screen gives you quick access to setting up and creating volumes, shares, users, and privileges to make quick work of your new NAS.
The DSM 3.0 is totally multi-window. You can open any number of "views" just like a real OS. In actually, the DSM 3.0 is the OS of the DS211, so the analogy fits. While it is intuitive to work with (coming from a desktop OS), it also gets out of the way when needed. The menu at the top controls the majority of the functions through the control panel so you aren't buried in window hell. As you can see, we've already setup a volume and assigned a public share.
One very useful information that the DSM 3.0 software presents is the status of the drives inside the DS211. You can even access the raw SMART data to make sure everything is working nominally. The shot was done while we were transferring files and the drives were still at a reasonable temperature.
The menu is located at the top left (GNOME/Mac style). You can access it at anytime and it presents all the needed control interfaces for the DS211. The control panel is the most important bit after setting up a volume since you can get to everything from that area.
Think of the control panel as the base of operations, just like any other OS. It is from here that you can make the DS211 anything you want it to be. Do you want to enable the PHP webserver with MySQL? Click the Web Services icon and enable it. The DSM 3.0 software allows you to gain SSH access to hack the unit anyway you would want.
Unlike the DS210j review, we're operating on a gigabit LAN for this. Still, we opted to use the default MTU value of 1500 since jumbo frames are non standard and some switches don't support them. From the network settings page, you can setup the network name and even IPv6. If you have a Linux compatible USB 802.11 NIC, you can setup wireless support from the next tab as well. Since the DSM 3.0 software runs on Linux 2.6.32, you get all the features it provides.
If you have an IPv6 gateway, you can tunnel over IPv4. The software allows a great deal of customization and it allows you to use the DS211 in a variety of network configurations.